Less work and more education for children in Quito

As we are nearing the end of 2022, we would like to provide you with an overview of UBECI’s objectives, activities and achievements over the past year.

Finally, following two years of on and off lockdown in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 UBECI was able to restart its activities supporting poor indigenous children in the markets of Southern Quito, resuming the playgroups and also working with the children’s mothers to improve relationships within families.

UBECI’s programming has concentrated on the following objectives:

-        Reducing violence within the family

-        Strengthening the cultural identity of the indigenous communities present in the markets

-        Educating children and parents on the topic of gender equality

-        A healthier life post-COVID 

UBECI’s social workers, psychologists and volunteers are currently providing support to 630 girls and boys and have been able to reconnect with 85% of the families they supported before COVID struck.

The playgroups at the market start the day with a chat about the importance of hygiene and washing their hands. Over the last year the playgroup activities have focussed in particular on the emotional and social wellbeing and physical health of the children, given the damage done by COVID.

In past reports we mentioned UBECI’s use of ‘stories’ based on the children’s daily lives, for example, maternal love and the sacrifices made by mothers for their children’s good, to highlight the positive aspects of their family environment and as a way of strengthening their sense of empathy and security.

The tragic loss of family members, the loss of jobs and livelihoods, and increased domestic violence are all consequences of and were exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. UBECI realised the urgent need to provide support to the children’s mothers to help them manage the challenging situation. At UBECI, they designed a programme (‘You are not alone’) aimed at reducing the incidence of violence against children and teaching parents how to manage anger. Helping the mothers build their self-esteem, improve interactions within the family and strengthening cultural identity were important aspects of this programme focussed on listening skills and learning to appreciate and value their traditions, dialect and customs.

UBECI staff in the playgroups and workshops have used a variety of media to communicate with children and parents, including images, music, dance, puppets, and art.

These activities were accompanied by a number of campaigns to improve the physical and emotional health of the children and their families, including:

-        Celebrating children’s birthdays, giving them a sense of joy and optimism

-        Distribution of clothes and shoes to the poorest families

-        Providing families with food hampers to combat malnutrition

-        Distribution of school bags and kits

It has been a difficult year that has required a new start and a reshaping and widening of UBECI’s educational programmes. Their hard work and your financial support has meant that educational activities have successfully relaunched and have been enhanced to cater to the changed circumstances, providing more holistic support, including to wider family members.

UBECI’s activities in the playgroups at the markets have now fully resumed. There is a lot of catching up to do after two years of frequent lockdowns!

COVID restrictions have taken their toll on physical and mental health, also leading to an increase in domestic abuse, and a broader increase in poverty and vulnerability of the, mainly indigenous, children in the markets of Southern Quito where UBECI works.

UBECI has been focussing its work on strengthening the children’s emotional and physical health, and teaching them and their mothers’ about the rights they are entitled to.

The playgroup activities are increasingly using ‘stories’ to explain issues and challenges and how to deal with these, particularly relating to the impact of COVID, building children’s families and familiar surroundings into these tales, and helping to nevertheless highlight positive aspects in the children’s daily lives, in spite of the many problems they are grappling with. Each tale also identifies a number of new words, expanding the children’s Spanish vocabulary, as many grow up only speaking Quichua, an indigenous language.

UBECI has also been supporting the children’s mothers with workshops to strengthen their skills, but also their emotional resilience eg. helping them with anger management, with demonstrating affection towards their children, empowering them.

Vilma is the mother of one of the children who used to regularly attend the UBECI playgroups. Neither she nor her son have been at the market in recent months as she has been diagnosed with cancer and has been struggling with both her financial and emotional situation. Her son hasn’t been able to get the help with language and school work he used to get from social workers in UBECI’s playgroups. When UBECI learnt about the family’s circumstances they started assisting her son with additional educational material and regular home visits to support his education. Vilma has also benefited from joining the UBECI mother workshops, where she has had the opportunity to share her experience and has received valuable support from UBECI and other mothers.

UBECI recognises that together with helping children directly in the playgroups, there is at times additional work that is needed to strengthen the child’s home environment, through the provision of wider support and encouragement to mothers, who struggle to make ends meet with their meagre market earnings and who are sadly often victims of abuse at the hands of their partners.

UBECI wouldn’t be able to provide this assistance to the indigenous children in the markets of Southern Quito without your continued support. Thank you!

The ViaNiños Team